Egypt was plunged further towards civil war yesterday after dozens of supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi were shot dead by the army.

More than 50 people were killed and 435 injured in an attack condemned by Turkey as a ‘massacre’.

The clash has led to calls from Islamists for an all-out rebellion against the military – which ousted the democratically-elected leader in a coup last week.

The killings took place outside the Republican Guard building in Cairo, where some believe Mr Morsi is being held.

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Running red: A river of blood flows down Salem Saleh street in Cairo, Egypt where supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi clashed with the Egyptian military, kiling at least 52 people and injuring hundreds more

Army snipers were caught on camera shooting at a large crowd of Egyptian men this morning

The crowd of Morsi supporters had assembled in the square in the early hours of the morning. At least 51 people were killed

Stubborn: Two female supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi sit in front of barbed wire fencing that blocks the access to the headquarters of the Republican Guard in Cairo where the bloodbath took place

Grief: An Egyptian man cries outside a morgue after carrying the corpse of his brother killed near the Republican Guard building in Cairo

Action: A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chants slogans while his comrades take a rest in a park near Cairo University

Morsi supporters attend the noon prayer as they protest in Nasser City, suburb of Cairo on Monday

Bodies lie on the floor at a makeshift morgue in a hospital in Cairo after clashes between the military and supporters of President Morsi left at least 42 dead

Victims: A member of the Muslim Brotherhood sits next to the bodies of supporters of ousted president Morsi who were killed during clashes early on Monday morning

Satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera
showed footage from a nearby field hospital of at least six dead bodies
laid out on the ground, some with severe wounds.

A
medic from the area, Hesham Agami, said ambulances were unable to
transport more than 200 wounded to hospitals because the military had
blocked off the roads.

Al-Shaimaa
Younes, who was at the sit-in, said military troops and police forces
opened fire on the protesters during early morning prayers.

'They
opened fire with live ammunition and lobbed tear gas,' she said by
telephone. 'There was panic and people started running. I saw people
fall.'

Women and children had been among the protesters, she said.

Bloodshed: A Muslim Brotherhood member receives medical attention after being injured during the violence

In the line of fire: An injured man is wheeled into a makeshift hospital where victims are being brought following clashes between Egyptian military and Muslim Brotherhood supporters

Injured: Supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi help a wounded protester outside the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo

Turmoil: A man grieves at a makeshift hospital where victims are being brought following clashes between Egyptian police and Muslim Brotherhood supporters

Fighting for their cause: Wounded supporters of president Morsi wait for treatment at a field hospital in Cairo

Collateral damage: An ambulance driver lies on a hospital bed after being shot while trying to help the injured

Help at hand: A injured man sits in a makeshift hospital where victims are being brought following clashes between Egyptian police and Muslim Brotherhood supporters

A wounded Morsi supporter is treated at a private hospital in Cairo: A medic claimed ambulances were unable to transport more than 200 wounded to hospitals because the military had blocked off the roads

Military spokesman Colonel Ahmed
Mohammed Ali said initial information indicates that gunmen affiliated
with the Brotherhood tried to storm the Republican Guard building
shortly after dawn, firing live ammunition and throwing firebombs from a
nearby mosque and rooftops.

One police officer on the scene was killed, he said.

Another military spokesman said five from the Brotherhood side were killed.

Taking cover: Muslim Brotherhood members gather behind barricades during clashes with the military over the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi which has left dozens dead and a further 300 injured in Cairo

Outraged: Morsi's supporters refuse to recognise the interim leader and insist the ex-president be reinstated

Out in force: Egyptian Republican guards take up positions in front of a barricade during clashes with members of the Muslim Brotherhood near rabaa aldwya in Cairo

Brink of civil war: Egyptian army soldiers take their positions near armored vehicles at the entrance of Tahrir square in Cairo, where dozens of people were killed in clashes outside a military building in the capital

At the ready: Amid conflicting reports, the military said initial information indicates that gunmen affiliated with the Brotherhood tried to storm the Republican Guard building shortly after dawn

Carnage: An Egyptian health ministry official said initial reports indicated at least 300 were wounded

Transition: Egypt's military chief has replaced Morsi with an interim leader until presidential elections are held

Unrest: An Egyptian woman walks past army forces on a bridge leading to Tahrir square in Cairo

On alert: A tank of the Egyptian Army drives on a bridge leading to Tahrir square after clashes between the military and protesters outside the Republican Guard building

The statement said the forces arrested 200 attackers, armed with guns and ammunition.

Morsi supporters have been holding
rallies and a sit-in outside the Republican Guard building since the
military deposed Morsi during massive protests against him.

The military chief replaced Morsi with an interim leader, until presidential elections are held.

But Morsi's supporters refuse to recognise the interim leader and insist Morsi be reinstated.

Smoke alarm: Egyptian supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood rallying in support of deposed president Mohamed Morsi clash with police outside the Republican Guard HQ in Cairo

Evasive action: People run for cover as security forces fire tear gas after shooting to disperse Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi outside the Republican Guard HQ in Cairo

Clashes: Al-Shaimaa Younes, who was at the sit-in, said military troops and police forces opened fire on the protesters during early morning prayers

Besides the Republican Guard sit-in, they are also holding thousands-strong daily rallies at a nearby mosque.

Morsi's
opponents are also holding rival rallies. They say the former president
lost his legitimacy by mismanaging the country and not ruling
democratically, leading to a mass revolt that called on the army to push
him from office.

Secular and liberal factions trying
to install one of their own as Egypt's new prime minister met strong
resistance from the sole Islamist faction that backed the military's
ousting of President Mohammed Morsi.

As
talks went on, giant rallies by the movements that pushed out Mr Morsi
took on a sharply nationalist tone, pervaded with posters of the
military's chief and denunciations of the United States and President
Barack Obama for they see as their backing of the Islamist leader.

The show of strength in the streets
was aimed at fending off a determined campaign by Mr Morsi's Muslim
Brotherhood, which brought out its own supporters in large protests
yesterday.

Warning that the
military was turning Egypt into a 'totalitarian state', Brotherhood
officials vowed to stay on the streets to reverse what they call a coup
against democracy and restore Egypt's first freely-elected president to
office.

Explosive: Fireworks burst over opponents of Egypt's ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi during a rally outside the presidential palace in Cairo, where dozens of people have been killed in clashes

Flaring up: A spokesman from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and a witness at the scene however said military forces opened fire at dawn on the protesters outside the Republican Guard building

Up in arms: Egyptian supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood shout slogans as they rally in support of deposed president Mohamed Morsi outside Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque late on Sunday

Military warplanes
swooped over the anti-Morsi crowd filling Cairo's Tahrir Square, drawing
a heart shape and an Egyptian flag in the sky with coloured smoke.
Large banners read 'Obama, hands off, a message to the USA. Obama
supports the terrorists of 911' with a picture of Mr Obama with an
Islamists' beard.

Throughout
Mr Morsi's year in office, many of his opponents accused the United
States of backing his administration. Washington often underlined that
it was dealing with Mr Morsi as the country's elected leader.

Before the wave of anti-Morsi
protests began on June 30, U.S. ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson said
she was 'deeply sceptical' protests would be fruitful.

She
defended US relations with Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood as necessary
because the group was part of the democratically-elected government.

On
Saturday, the White House said it rejected 'false claims propagated by
some in Egypt that we are working with specific political parties or
movements to dictate how Egypt's transition should proceed', saying it
was committed to Egyptians' aspirations for democracy.

The
widespread appearance of anti-American slogans in Tahrir had a
double-edged message: painting the Brotherhood as a tool of Washington
and pushing back against US concerns over the military's moves.

Tensions run high: Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi run during a clash with anti-Morsi protesters in Alexandria

Making their views known: Anti-Morsi protesters celebrate in Alexandria thousands of supporters and opponents of the ousted Egyptian President gathered in the city

Obama 'must know that this is a popular revolution', said Shawki Ibrahim,37, with a portrait of army chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi dangling from his neck.

'The United States should support the people's will and not the interest of a person or a group seeking only their own interest.'

The appointment of a prime minister is the key next step in building a post-Morsi leadership. The prime minister is to hold far greater powers in running the country than the interim president , Adly Mansour, a senior judge who was sworn into the post earlier.

The bloc of secular, leftist and liberal factions that led the giant wave of protests against Mr Morsi last week are now the main grouping in a loose collection of movements trying to fill out leadership posts.

Warning: Middle East peace envoy and former British prime minister Tony Blair said it would be 'devastating' for the region if Egypt were to collapse

They are pushing for one of their own as prime minister to have a strong voice in shaping the country.

But
also among them is a main party of the ultra-conservative Islamist
movement known as Salafis - al-Nour - which turned against Mr Morsi
months ago and backed his removal.

On Saturday, al-Nour blocked the appointment of the most prominent liberal figure, Mohamed ElBaradei, as prime minister, who is deeply distrusted by the Islamist movement as too secular.

Yesterday, the secular-liberal bloc offered a compromise candidate, Ziad Bahaa-Eldin, a prominent financial expert and an ally of Mr ElBaradei.

The interim president's spokesman Ahmed al-Musalamani, told Egypt's ONTV that Mr Bahaa-Eldin was the leading candidate, with Mr ElBaradei positioned to be named vice president.

But al-Nour again appeared prepared to block it.

'Our position is that the prime minister should not belong to a specific faction ... We want a technocrat,' al-Nour Party chief Younes Makhyoun said.

He pointed to Mr Bahaa-Eldin's membership in the National Salvation Front, the main umbrella group of liberal parties that was Mr Morsi's main opposition.

Al-Nour faces considerable pressure from its followers not to be seen as backing down to secular movements. Brotherhood officials claim some al-Nour members have already joined its pro-Morsi protests.

When al-Nour broke with Mr Morsi months ago, it caused a split among its ranks, with some members forming a new party that remained with the president.

Al-Nour was clearly concerned about appearing to side with the military against fellow Islamists at a time when Mr Morsi and five other prominent Brotherhood figures have been put in detention and Islamist television stations have been put off the air.

Concerned: Mr Blair gave his reaction to the growing crisis in Egypt on BBC Radio 4's Today programme

Speaking on Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr TV, Mr Makhyoun warned that if the interim president threw out the Islamist-drafted constitution and appointed a panel to write a new one, the party would break with the military-backed 'road map' for a transition.

So far, the constitution has been only suspended and the talk has been of just amending disputed articles.

Yesterday, the Dawaa Salafia, a body of clerics allied to al-Nour, said the new leadership must be inclusive of Islamists and criticised the heavy hand against the Brotherhood.

'No one should rejoice for undermining the freedom of others even if they are political rivals because repression is harmful for all,' it said in a statement.

'The police and the army should not discriminate between citizens based on their political colour.

'Worse than this is to discriminate against anyone because of their Islamic disposition.'

* Tony Blair has called for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Syria.

The former prime minister criticised the Government’s lack of intervention, saying it was a ‘fight that matters to us as well’.

He also claimed the conflict in Syria
over the last two years had caused more deaths than the Iraq War in
proportion to the population – and called for the West to help arm the
Syrian rebels.